When to Plant Tomato in Sydney, Warm Temperate Guide
Sow August to February. Right now in October you can sow.
Grow Tomato in your space
- Planting window
- Start seed under cover in August and plant out from October. Late plantings in January and February give a useful autumn crop on the coast.
- Days to harvest
- about 10 weeks
- Sunlight
- Full sun (minimum 6-8 hours daily). More sun = more fruit = more flavour.
- Water needs
- Deep watering 2-3 times per week, consistent and at the base. NEVER overhead water...
- Spacing
- 60cm apart, 90cm between rows
- Soil pH
- 6.0-6.8
- Shop price
- $4.44/kg average
Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
This Tomato guide is written for the Warm Temperate zone, which takes in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Tomatoes are Australia's most popular home-grown vegetable and arguably the most rewarding. The difference between a sun-ripened home-grown tomato and a supermarket specimen is profound. They require warmth, consistent moisture, and attention to pest management (especially fruit fly in QLD/NSW). Hundreds of varieties available from cherry to beefsteak, determinate to indeterminate, heirloom to hybrid. Grafted plants offer disease resistance for problem soils.
See what grows now in your own postcode
Planting Calendar for Warm Temperate
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | - | - | - | - | - | S | S | S/T/D | S/T/D | S/T |
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
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Current Growing Conditions
Soil temperature: 18.5°C (optimal range: 18–30°C) ✓ Ready to plant
Modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Sydney), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like
In October the Warm Temperate zone normally runs 24°C by day and 13°C overnight, with about 66 mm of rain over 7 or 8 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -1.5°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 153 postcodes, SILO.
How to Grow Tomato in Warm Temperate Australia
When to Plant
Start seed under cover in August and plant out from October. Late plantings in January and February give a useful autumn crop on the coast.
- Soil
- Well-drained, rich loam with plenty of compost. Deep soil preferred. pH-adjusted with lime if acidic.
- pH Range
- 6.0-6.8
- Sunlight
- Full sun (minimum 6-8 hours daily). More sun = more fruit = more flavour.
- Spacing
- 60cm apart, 90cm between rows
- Watering
- Deep watering 2-3 times per week, consistent and at the base. NEVER overhead water, promotes fungal disease. Inconsistent watering is the #1 cause of blossom end rot and fruit splitting. Drip...
Companion plants: Basil, Marigold, Parsley, Carrot, Nasturtium
Avoid planting near: Brassicas, Fennel, Dill (attracts tomato hornworm), Potato (shared diseases)
Grow before, grow after
Tomato belongs with the nightshades, the fruiting crops turn of a four turn bed rotation.
- Grow before it
- Leafy greens and brassicas (Lettuce, Silverbeet, Broccoli)
- Grow after it
- Roots and alliums (Carrot, Beetroot, Onion)
Give the bed 3 turns before nightshades go back in. Tomato, capsicum, eggplant and potato share wilts and blights that live on in the soil.
Warm Temperate Growing Tips for Tomato
Recommended Varieties
- Grosse Lisse
- Rouge de Marmande
- Black Russian
- Green Zebra
- Brandywine
Key Challenges
- Fruit fly expanding into Sydney basin
- Late blight in cool wet periods
- Early blight from mid-season
Pro Tips
- Best all-round Australian zone for tomato variety diversity
- Start fruit fly management even if you haven't had problems before, range is expanding
- Heirloom varieties perform best here. Long warm season without tropical extremes
Harvesting Tomato
When ready: Fully coloured (red, pink, yellow depending on variety), slight give when gently squeezed, aromatic. For best flavour, pick vine-ripened. In fruit fly zones, pick at 'breaker' stage (first colour change) and ripen indoors.
How to harvest: Twist and snap or cut with clean secateurs. Harvest in morning when cool. Handle carefully to avoid bruising.
Preserving: pressure canning
19 tested pressure-canning recipes for Tomato: 16 where it is the crop being canned and 3 where it is a main ingredient. Each one comes from published home canning guidelines. The conversion to Australian units is ours, with psi beside every kPa. Always follow your pressure canner's manual.
Worth growing?
A 2.4 m × 1.2 m bed fits 9 plants, about $180 worth at today’s Aldi and Coles prices, checked today.
That is roughly 41 kg at $4.44 a kilo.
Draw your tomato bed → No account needed.
Common Tomato Pests in Warm Temperate Zones
Early Blight and Late Blight, risk: MODERATE (score: 58/100)In the pest library for tomato:
Queensland Fruit Fly, critical severity Late Blight, critical severity Bacterial Wilt, critical severity Green Vegetable Bug, high severity Whitefly (Silverleaf and Greenhouse), high severity Thrips (Onion, Tomato, Western Flower), high severity Tomato-Potato Psyllid, high severity Corn Earworm / Tomato Grub (Heliothis), high severity Two-spotted Spider Mite, high severity Root-knot Nematode, high severity Powdery Mildew, high severity Early Blight, high severity Fusarium Wilt, high severity Damping Off, high severity Botrytis / Grey Mould, high severity Bacterial Spot, high severity Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), high severity Mosaic Viruses (CMV, ToMV, ZYMV), high severity Possums (Common Brushtail, Ringtail), high severity Aphids (Green Peach, Cabbage, Cotton), moderate severity Cutworms, moderate severity Mealybug, moderate severity Spined Citrus Bug, moderate severity Birds (Bowerbirds, Cockatoos, Pigeons), moderate severity Rats and Mice, moderate severity Scale insects (armoured and soft scale), moderate severityOrganic prevention (Early Blight): Crop rotation (3 year minimum with non-Solanaceae). Mulch to prevent soil splash. Remove lower leaves below first fruit truss. Stake and space for airflow. Never overhead water.
Where to next
Supermarket Price
Current average retail: $4.44/kg (12-month range: $3.00–$29.00)
Grow your own and save on grocery bills.
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Open the planting dashboard Join GardenBuddy.auCommon Questions About Tomato
When do you plant tomato in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Mar to Jul
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Jan to Apr, Jul to Oct
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jan to Feb, Aug to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Aug to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Aug to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Jan to Feb, Jul to Oct, Dec
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jan, Jul to Dec
Does tomato grow all year round in Sydney?
No. In the Warm Temperate zone the planting months are Jan to Feb, Aug to Dec. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Warm Temperate zone, Sydney is its reference city.